Israeli police announced on Saturday that they were opening an investigation following footage showing security forces beating Palestinians at the funeral of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.
The sequence caused an international outcry. At the funeral of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in Jerusalem, Israeli police charged into the crowd and beat those carrying the coffin with truncheons.
This Saturday, “the commissioner of the Israeli police, in coordination with the Minister of Public Security” announced the opening of an investigation to determine the circumstances of these clashes. “The conclusions of the investigation will be presented to the commissioner in the coming days,” said the police.
A questionable death
As a reminder, Shireen Abu Akleh was a Palestinian journalist for the al-Jazeera television channel. This Wednesday, she was reportedly killed “in cold blood with a sniper bullet in the face by Israeli army fire”. For its part, the Israeli government has denied these accusations, speaking of an operation of “counter-terrorism”. However, Shireen Abu Akleh wore a vest emblazoned with the word “press”, according to witnesses.
Palestinian mourners of slain #AlJazeera journalist #Shireen_Abu_Akleh are attacked by Israeli forces while carrying her coffin during her funeral procession in #Jerusalem pic.twitter.com/ZaiVqVYX27
— In Context (@incontextmedia) May 13, 2022
The 51-year-old reporter was covering this military operation by the Israeli army in Jenin. This territory is the stronghold of the Palestinian armed forces in the northern West Bank. The Israeli army clarified on social networks that the operation was aimed at “apprehending suspected terrorists”.
During the funeral, organized this Friday, thousands of Palestinians came to pay homage to the journalist, whom they define as “their voice of freedom”. The violence was such that the coffin almost fell from the hands of the carriers, who were hit by batons.
The international community condemns the violence
Images of the violence in Jerusalem have provoked widespread anger from the international community. On Twitter, the Consulate General of France in Israel posted its “dismay at the police violence during the funeral”, adding that “such scenes are deeply shocking”.
Dismay at the police violence during the funeral of Shireen Abu Akleh at St Joseph’s Hospital, an establishment under French protection. Such scenes are deeply shocking.
— France in Jerusalem (@FranceJerusalem) May 13, 2022
Other nations have strongly criticized police violence. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he was “deeply disturbed by the Israeli police footage”. In a statement, the UN Security Council unanimously “strongly condemned” the murder of Shireen Abu Akleh and demanded an “immediate, thorough, transparent and impartial investigation”.